Gas tank lock



March 10, 1936. LEA H 7 2,033,432

GAS TANK LOCK Filed March 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l l M III /6 /s %45.5.

Inventor A? Cilaacfif Attorney March 10, 1936. q LEACH 2,033,432

GAS TANK LOCK Filed March 29, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 10,1936

UNITED s'rAri-zs PATENT oFF c GAS TANK LOCK Ohillson Leach, Ashland, Ky.

Application March 29, 1935, Serial No. 13,766 I 1Claim. ((1220-55) This invention relates'to a lock for a gasoline tank, the general object of the invention being to provide means for preventing access to the tank of an automobile or the like so as to prevent one from stealing the gasoline in the tank,

- with means whereby the operator or occupant of the automobile can release the lock without leaving the vehicle.

Thisinvention also consists in certain 'other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view through the neck of a gasoline tank and showing the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33.of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 1.

In these drawings, the numeral I indicates the neck of a gasoline tank of a motor vehicle and the numeral 2 indicates the cover or lid for the neck, the lid being connected with the neck by a spring hinge 3, the spring of which normally holds the lid in closed position. An upper partition 4 extends across the upper part of the neck and supports a gasket 5 which is engaged by a depending cylindrical part attached to the underface of the lid when the lid is in closed position. A lower partition 1 extends across the lower part of the neck and these partitions 4 and I support the vertically arranged tube 8 through which the gasoline from the hose of the pump flows into the tank. A stationary latch member 9 is fastened to the underfaceof the lid and passes through the member 6 and throughahole I0 in the. upper partition 4 and depends into the space between the neck and the tube 8. A second latch member II is pivotally supported intermediate its .ends by the ears l2 attached to the neck, the head of this latch member II being adapted to overlap the head of the latch member 9 to hold the lid in closed position as shown in Fig. 1,

the parts being so arranged that the two latch members will engage each other when the lid is closed, the beveled edges of the two latch members permitting the heads thereof to pass each.

member II has its lower part of greater weight than its upper part so that this member H is normally held in latching position by the action of gravity so that the upper latch member en- I gages the member II and the upper end of the 5 member H is forced outwardly and as soon as the heads of the two latch members pass each other the head of the member I l swings inward ly into engagement with the head of the latch member 9. A ring l3 encircles the 0 lower end of. the tube 8 and is located in the lower part of the-neck. and also engages the lower end of the latch member II. This ring is carried by a plunger [4 operating in a laterally extending cylinder I5 connected with U the lower part of the neckand having its outer end closed by a cover It. A spring I! in the cylinder acts to hold the plunger' l4 and ring in inoperative position as shown in Fig. 1 with the latch member ll engaging the latch mem- 20 her 9. However, when the plunger is moved outwardly in the cylinder IS, the ring l3 will exert a pull upon the lower end of the latch member Ii, thus rocking the latch member on its pivot and freeing its head from the 25 head of the latch member 9 so that the lid 2 can be lifted. A stem I8 is connected to the plunger l4 and passes through ahole in the cap I6 and a flexible member 19 is connected with the stem and passes to a point 30 adjacent the drivers seat where it is provided with a knob 20 so that by pulling upon the knob, the plunger will be retracted to move the latch member II to inoperative position. The flexible member l9 can be placed in 35 a flexible casing and the knob '20 can be associated with any suitable type of lock so that the knob cannot be pulled upon until the lock is moved to open position, thuspreventing an unauthorized person from operating the de- 40 vice to release the lid of the gasoline tank in an attempt to secure gasoline from the tank.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent. 45

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and-in the combination and arrangement of the several parts provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

Anti-thief means for gasoline tanks of motor vehicles and the like comprising a neck for the tank, upper and lower partition members in the neck, a vertically arranged filling tube sup- .65

ported by the partition members with its upper end projecting above the upper partition member, a gasket on the upper partition member, a lid for the neck, a spring hinge connecting the lid to a part of the neck, a depending portion member pivotally arranged in the neck and having a head at its upper end for engaging the head at the lower end of the first mentioned latch member under the action of gravity, 9. plunger cylinder extending laterally from the lower part of the neck, a plunger in the cylinder, a ring having a part connected with the inner end of the plunger, said ring passing around the tube and the lower end of the second latch member, a spring for projecting the plunger and means for retracting the plunger from a remote point. p 4 CHILL-SON LEACH. 

